MY 2024 WATERCOLOUR PALETTE

May 20, 2024

Hello colour friends!

Over the years I have been asked about my palettes and which colours live in my palette. So for the very first time I am going to do an unveil and give you an insider peek into my colour world. All colours from this selection is from Daniel Smith and I am very proud to be their ambassador since 2019.

As you can see I am quite the hoarder and also colour fanatic. Over the last 14 years I have assembled many palettes and selection and still have not found the perfect one. May it is okay have different palette for different situations. This year I made one more palette with a smaller selection (sorry it is still 22 colours!) and all paints in full pans to accommodate my bigger brushes. So far I like the combinations and versatility even though I still miss a few favourites. I think I had to omit and let go about 10 colours.

HOW DO I ARRANGE MY PALETTE?

It is important to arrange the colours in your own way so that you are comfortable with the position and placement of individual colours. I liken my palette to a piano with good keys with different octaves. You need to learn the positions of the colours like piano keys and how to ‘play’ the palette with consistent practice. With lots practice, your brush and your hand should move intuitively and with synchronicity to the right colours. Therefore is important to give yourself time to know your palette well and work with it over a long period of time before you build a new palette.

In this featured palette I have also grouped the colours into 4 big families. You can group your colours in your own unique ways too. We see and connect with colours very differently. Ultimately your colour selections and the colour families you create should make sense to you.

EARTH (Browns & Greens)
SKY/SHADOW (Blues)
ACCENT & SPICE (Reds)
SPECIALS (Purples & Blacks)

If you are new to watercolour, I would recommend starting with 10-12 colours. My COLOUR PLAYLAB set is a 10 colour selection of Daniel Smith paints and I picked them to give you endless mixing options. Click HERE for more detailed information about the set.

I like my colours to pair well with each other and can give me endless mixing possibilities. Try to not just follow standard mixing formulas. I am an advocate for play and you can try mixing unusual colours to see what happens. I make my best discoveries with accidental mixes.

Final tips! Keep your paints moist and creamy. Try not to work with dried out gritty paints and your colours will continue sing for you!

EVENTS & WORKSHOPS

ART JAM at LITTLE BIG GARDEN (Singaore)
Date: Saturday 25June
Time: 10am-12.30pm
Click HERE to sign up.

PLAYING UNCONVENTIONAL TOOLS (Hong Kong)
Venue: Outdoor space near JOY IN ART art store
Date: Monday 24June
Time: 2-5pm
Click HERE to sign up.

ART FOOD CULTURE Retreat in NORTH VIETNAM
- 10 days of immersive travel and 8 experimental drawing/painting workshops in North East Vietnam.
Date: 11-20th October
Click HERE for more information.